Across Star Riddled Skies
by lokiXdarcy
Summary: AU. Set roughly 6 months before the events of Thor. What if Loki was banished to learn a lesson on Earth, before Thor ever was? Who would help him? What would the consequences be? And would anything change?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I clearly don't own any rights to anything, let alone Thor. Or Loki, for that matter. I only own a DVD of Thor. I don't even have a Loki action figure. Sad times.

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A/N: This product was brought to you by a teenage girl who spends too much time fangirling and not enough time in the real world. Her preferred time to write is in the wee hours of the morning, loaded with sugar, while listening to music loudly. She hopes you like it.

A/N 2: The first chapter is kinda short; I needed to get the background and the apartment and everything in order, and set the scene a bit. Chapter 2 will be better. I think ^_^

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**All The Stars Were Falling, One Hit Me In The Head  
**

Darcy hummed to herself as she walked out the bathroom, adjusting her eyes to the dark of the general living space. The apartment was small, but homey and comfortable: a lounge/eating area (containing several poofy chairs, a large wood coffee table and a tv up one end) was dubbed the "general living space" and was where you immediately were when you walked through the front door. To the right side of the apartment lay the kitchen, which was small but sufficed. Two doors were on the left of the general living space, with a final one at the back. The door on the left closest to the entrance was the bathroom, containing a basic toilet, sink and shower. The other door on the left belonged to Darcy's room-mate, Tom, who was very good company, very, very tidy, and very, very, very gay.  
This left the back room as Darcy's. In stark contrast to the rest of the apartment, which Tom kept impeccably neat, Darcy's room was a war zone. Every surface was covered in either books or empty food and drink wrappers. The floor was littered with piles of clothes, for she did not own a wardrobe; a sacrifice made in favour of a double bed. Across the back and left walls was an extensive bookshelf, packed to exploding point with every genre of book imaginable. The room also contained a blue table that Darcy's computer sat on, and a cd player/sound system wired into, on, around and behind the bookshelf. And a black and white cat called Speck.  
Darcy ruffled her hair absent-mindedly with a corner of her towel as she walked into her room. Fishing a baggy shirt and some trousers (that didn't match) out of the "night-wear" pile of clothes, she dressed quickly before plaiting her hair so as to keep it out of the way. Hair falling in front of her face while she was reading was _not _something Darcy was cool with.  
She scanned her shelves for something she hadn't read yet, and settled on _Wicked Lovely_ – something her friend Isabel had given her for her birthday that she hadn't got around to picking up yet.  
Half an hour passed with Darcy snuggled up in bed reading, before the front door to the apartment opened and shut once more with and audible _'bang'.  
_Two months after Darcy started college, she became friends with Harry, when they were paired together for an assignment. He was sorta cute, and no one had shown any interest in her, romantically, up to that point. So she casually asked him if he'd like to join in on the next movie night. Darcy held these often – she'd ask her friends round her and Tom's place and they'd sit and chill and watch a film and have a laugh. He accepted. What she hadn't planned on (though she was neither surprised nor displeased) was how well Harry would get along with Tom. As usual, that evening the whole lot of them crashed out on the varying sofas and chairs. When Darcy got up the next morning the two had fallen asleep on the same sofa; Tom with his head resting against Harry's shoulder. Inwardly awwrh-ing, because it was sorta perfect, she subtly woke everyone up by noisily making teas and coffees.  
Now, 6 months down the line, the pair were undeniably in love. Harry pretty much lived there, too, so it wasn't unusual to hear the laughter and the talking as they vanished into Tom's room, yelling the promise "We'll try to be quiet!". 15 minutes later, she could definitely fucking hear them. Or she could definitely hear them fucking. Both were true.  
Sighing, Darcy pulled herself from her quilt. She might have one of the perviest brains since time began, but that didn't mean she could concentrate on a book while two guys had sex in the next room. She was used to it, too. Maybe not routinely, but this did happen a _lot_.  
Pulling jeans and a hoodie over her pjs, Darcy scribbled a note that read "Gone reading, not that you'll miss me ^_~", left it on the lounge table, grabbed her bag and snuck out as quietly as possible. Her car was old and banged up and small and _yellow_, but she loved it. It also already contained several rolled up blankets and pillows.  
Driving as fast as her car and the speed limit would allow, she isolated herself in the flats surrounding the tiny New Mexico village. It was her favourite place to go when she needed to escape and just think or read or… anything. As loud as she was, even Darcy needed quiet-time every so often.

It was 3:30am, and Darcy had long since fallen asleep, curled up in a blanket-nest, book rising and falling with her rhythmical breathing where it rested on her chest. She shivered in her sleep, rolled sideways and curled into a ball; book falling and snapping shut as she did so.  
There was a quiet rumble, not enough to wake such a deep sleeper as Darcy was, but audible none the less. And then it grew louder. And then it grew a _lot _louder. Darcy shot up, hair crumpled from sleep and blowing in the sudden whirlwind.  
"Hnnngh, what's going on? Where's the tornado?"  
Talking to herself, brilliant, Darce. She didn't really think there was a tornado, of course, but her sleep-addled brain was too stunned to make sense. She look forwards, blinking sleep out of her eyes and…  
"Now way… Hell no! Oh, shit, this has to happen to me, doesn't it?"  
She'd totally, if unintentionally, been right with her words – tornado apparently _was_ the order of the day. Darcy gathered her nest from the floor, shoving it unceremoniously into the back of her car. Her book fell from the bundle and, as she paused to pick it up, she hesitated for a second.  
That tornado, it didn't quite look right. There'd been one a few months back a way outside of town. It calmed down pretty fast, and no damage had occurred, but it was all over the news and it didn't look like this one. Darcy was fairly sure that, in the grand scheme of things, tornados normally moved from a fixed spot, rapidly. And they didn't often have sparks and lightning issuing from them. And they definitely didn't make the sky glow blue. This was _weird_.  
Then, it was gone. Just like that. It didn't even die down or anything. It just stopped. Poof. Vanished. Darcy was seriously freaked now.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own any rights (except my OCs). I also still don't own a Loki figure.

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**Come On Fallen Star, I Refuse To Let You Die  
**

Darcy wasn't sure what to do. She wanted to investigate the site of the tornado; suss out the situation, as it were. But what if it came back? It had vanished so quick, she couldn't be sure that it wasn't temporarily invisibile or some shit like that. Still… It couldn't hurt to look a little closer, right?  
She moved forwards tentatively, the kind of slow you'd use when approaching an animal you didn't want to scare. It took her 10 minutes to get about 80 foot nearer. When she was considerably closer, she halted. There was something on the floor. Or was it someone? How the hell…? Today, Darcy thought, was not her day. Or night. Whatever. It was bad.  
She approached the person-lump, walking faster now that the tornado-thing was clearly long gone. Person-lump was male, for starters, and wearing… What the hell was he wearing? It looked like armour; gold plates over black and green cloths. His hair was black and shoulder-length and flicked up at the ends. His eyes were shut.  
"Ehem... Hello?"  
No response. She nudged him with her foot. Nothing. He was certainly alive – Darcy could see the soft rise and fall of his chest as he breathed. Crouching down, she could see there were several small cuts on his hands and face, presumably from where he... fell? She tried tapping his face gently to wake him, but to no avail. What to do? She couldn't take him to the hospital – how would she explain that he'd appeared, passed out, out of nowhere, after a freaky not-really-a-tornado? They'd probably want to take _her _in and test her for drugs.  
So Darcy did the only thing that made any sense. She heaved the guy into the back of her car. It probably wasn't the most advisable course of action, he was a total stranger, but it was all she could do while he was unconscious and anyway - she still had the tazer her mum had given her when she'd moved to college.  
When they got back to the apartment, he was still out cold. Fuck living on the 4th floor. Still; Darcy got him up the stairs eventually. Fuck having no lifts. She had to dump the guy outside while she opened the door (Fuck having a temperamental door key), and it took a lot of strength to be bothered picking him up again. All that armour stuff was heavy. Finally, and with much exhaustion, the weird-(alien?)-guy-person was on the sofa. Where he was staying. Darcy felt sorry for the guy, all passed out and injured, but he was _not _having her wonderful, happy-dream-inducing bed. So, at 5:37am, Darcy Lewis left two notes on the table, one reading; "Tom, I found this guy passed out, I'll explain more in the morning, wake me if you need to.", and the other; "I don't know who you are, but I found you passed out after you kinda fell out the sky, and I brought you back to my apartment. If you wake up before I do and need anything, knock on my bedroom – it's the one at the back." and then collapsed onto her bed.

There was noise. It was loud. Darcy felt like someone was beating directly on the inside of her skull. Why was someone knocking on her bedroom door at... 11:04am? Tom wouldn't dare get her out of bed unless it was an emergency. And if it was an emergency, he wouldn't bother with knocking. Harry was too polite and quiet to knock that loudly. Which left...No-one. Who was knocking on her door?  
Then she remembered. Last night. The tornado. She brought the guy back. She told him to knock if he needed anything and she was asleep. That was her cue to get up. Opening the door, she tried a tentative smile.  
"Um, hi."  
He blinked at her. Darcy noticed just how perfectly green his eyes were.  
"Good morning. I believe I must thank you?"  
Darcy was still processing the world. He was... Must. Not. Fall. In. Love. With. Strange. Guy. But it was so hard not to immediately attach herself to his face! Focus, girl, he needs your help still.  
"I guess so. I did kinda heave your heavy ass up to my apartment at 5am."  
He looked slightly bemused, "Then you have my thanks. May I ask where I am?"  
"Full location?"  
"That would be most illuminating, please."  
"Darcy and Tom's apartment, Puente Antiguo, New Mexico, North America, Earth. That good enough?"  
"I'm on Midgard?"  
"You who what guard?"  
"Midgard. Earth, to you."  
"So you really did fall outta the sky? Awesome! I'm Darcy Lewis." She smiled again, and it was a genuine smile this time. She offered him her had.  
"I'm Loki Odinson. Pleased to meet you, Miss Lewis," He did not shake her hand, but instead gently lifted it and placed an old-fashioned kiss upon her knuckles, "And yes; I did indeed fall out of the sky."  
The way he spoke and acted, it was all very... _proper_. It was enchanting. "So, why'd ya fall here?"  
"I am ashamed to say I was banished from my home. It was a... disagreement with my Father. I do not believe I can truly explain until you know more about who I am. My Father is-" A rumble cut off his speech.  
"I dunno about your Father, but _you_ sound hungry!" Darcy laughed, "Come on, let's move from the doorway and I'll make something to eat."  
"That would be most lovely, Miss Lewis. If you're sure it's not too much trouble?"  
"'course not. Hell, I'm hungry too. And please, call me Darcy. Miss Lewis sounds far too formal."  
"As you wish... Darcy," and he smiled for the first time. It was the kind of smile you couldn't help smiling back at.  
They made their way to the kitchen; Loki leaning against the counter that separated the lounge-space from the cupboards and oven of the kitchen, while Darcy moved around making pancakes. As she worked, Loki told her about his past – how he and his brother were Princes of Asgard; how their Father, Odin, was the King; how he was centuries old, though Asgardians did not age once they had eaten fruit from the Tree of Youth, Idun. Mixed in with the facts were small tales of reminiscence, stories of Thor and the Warriors Three and Lady Sif and the adventures they had together. Then, eventually, he told of his disagreement with his Father.  
"It had come to the time when the throne was to be passed over to Thor. I was not bitter; I had grown up knowing he would be the one to ascend. But I knew in my heart he was not ready yet. My Father would not hear of it. I tried to tell him that he could not possibly know; having never been on a questing journey with him he was not aware of Thor's still childish stance on life and battle. But my judgment is apparently not as valued as that of a man who has not cared for us as a Father should in 500 years. The discussion escalated to argument, until my Father snapped. He decided that I had clearly grown too self-confident over my years of getting away with whatever mischief I wanted, and sentenced me to banishment on Midgard until such a time as I have been humbled. And so here I am, stuck on a planet I do not know, with no one to help me. Save you, of course…"  
"Well, that all sucks big-ass style. Wait - how do I know you're not just a crazy person?" Darcy asked. Although she already believed him; as unlikely as it sounded something within her told her he wasn't lying.  
Loki seemed to contemplate and he thought aloud, "I cannot perform any sorcery to prove that I am telling the truth about who I am… my Father took away my powers when he sent me here. I have nothing about my person to prove where I come from aside from my clothing…"  
"Meh, it's okay. I did kinda see you land on your face from inside a magical tornado. It's cool. I believe you. Now, pancakes are done. D'you want anything with them?"  
"What even are pancakes, m'lady?"  
"Did you just call me m'lady?" Darcy shook her head, "Never mind. You've never had pancakes before? What do you eat where you're from?"  
"Food on Asgard is much more in its basic form. We do not mix foods together, as you just did, in order to create a different product."  
"Well that's boring. You'll love pancakes, trust me. No one _dislikes_ pancakes, it just doesn't happen. How 'bout strawberries and maple syrup, hearda them?"  
"Strawberries we have. Maple syrup, no," He watched her eyes go wide at the sheer horror. "I'm sure I shall enjoy that just as much as these pancakes. They at least smell rather appealing." Darcy pulled out two plates and set one in front of Loki. At Darcy's prompting, he took a pancake from the stack on the side, wrapped strawberries inside it, and covered the whole thing in the sticky syrup. Darcy waited as he ate the finished parcel. "I confess myself surprisingly pleased. That was most enjoyable." He watched as the girl's face lit up.  
"I know, right? They're amazing. Told ya." She beamed at him again. They finished the rest of the pancakes in silence.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to anything. Except the OCs. Once again I still don't have a Loki figure, although I was reminded the other day that one of my best friends does have one, and was filled with sadness.

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A/N: I have come up with what my brain thinks is an infinitely cool idea. I'm gonna put song lyrics as a title for each chapter. So - cookies, mint hot chocolate and many bonus points to anyone who correctly guesses what the song is/who it's by each time ^_^

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**I Am Lost, So Lost, But You're The Constellations That Guide Me  
**

"What the fuck….. Who the fuck is this and why the fuck are you eating pancakes without me?" Tom emerged from his bedroom; blonde, curly hair all disheveled looking, and wearing nothing but a pair of loose-fitting grey pyjama bottoms.  
"Good morning to you too, Thomas," Darcy smiled. "This is Loki. I… found him, passed out, after a weird storm thing last night."  
"I see. Wait; you brought back some random, passed out stranger?! Darcy Lewis, have you got any idea how much danger that could cause?!"  
"Tom, it's fine, relax. He's not even technically human!" Darcy paused, "Wait, that sounded bad. He kinda… fell out the sky. From the weird tornado-lighting-storm-thingy that was happening. He was banished from his home. Long story. Point is; he was injured," She motioned to the cuts still clearly visible and red on his face, "and no one else was there to help. So, we can spare him some room, right?"  
"I promise," Loki appealed, "That I won't be in your way. And I only need to stay until I am given permission to return home. I should not be intruding too long. You should also know, I honestly mean no harm. It is exceptionally kind of Lady Darcy," Darcy flickered her eyes in annoyance at being called "Lady", "to show me such hospitality in these circumstances, and I have no intention of showing her any ill in return."  
Tom looked suspiciously between the two guilty pancake eaters, summing up the situation. "Ughhh, fine. But it can't be too permanent, okay? And you have to give me and Harry pancakes."  
As if by magic, Harry appeared; brown, floppy hair similarly disheveled, but clad in a tight, black t-shirt as well as matching grey trousers. "What's happening? I smelt Darcy's cooking…"  
Tom turned to face him, placing a kiss atop the shorter man's forehead. "You smelt correctly, mon petit fleur," Harry blushed a little at the display of affection in front of a new audience, "This is Loki, Darcy just rescued him from… god knows where. I'm not asking too many questions. But he _seems_ alright. And she's promised us food in return for us not objecting."  
Darcy nearly interrupted and said she hadn't _actually_ agreed to the deal, but decided she shouldn't really complain. Instead, she turned to Loki, "That's Harry. He's Tom's boyfriend/our third room-mate. He doesn't officially live here, mind. But he spends enough of his life here that he may as well."  
Loki shot her a mildly confused look, but merely said, "Good morrow, it is nice to meet you. Both of you," and held out his hand. They shook it, one after the other.

Once the group effectively cleared the kitchen of pancakes and accompaniments, Tom and Harry settled themselves into the squadgiest settee; Sweeney Todd in the dvd player.  
"I need to go out and get food and shit; wanna come with? Or d'you wanna stay here and watch the film with those two?" Darcy nodded towards the couple, who were in an in-depth Johnny Depp vs Jamie Campbell Bower debate.  
She noticed Loki give them the same mildly confused look as she'd picked up on earlier, before he said "I think I would rather join you, if you do not object."  
"Nah, I wouldn't mind a hand with the shopping…. _For once_." Darcy pointedly spoke towards Tom and Harry. They just made muttering, tittering noises. She smiled fondly. "I love them really. Problem is; they know that."  
Once the unlikely couple were in Darcy's car, Loki turned to her.  
"Tom and Harry are… in a relationship?"  
"Errr, yeah. Well, if they're not I dread to think what they're doing to make that amount of noise late at night."  
"But they are of the same gender. Is this normal here?"  
Darcy giggled slightly, "Yeah, it's normal. I mean, it wasn't always accepted. It sometimes still isn't. But without too much in depth explanation let's just leave it as saying it's normal. Don't get me wrong; not _everyone_'s gay. But some people are and that's okay with everyone else. Savvy?"  
"You mean do I follow you? I think I understand." Loki stared pensively out of the window as they drove, "Your Midgardian customs are very different to what I'm used to. Even your speech is unusual. And as for this metal machine you have me sitting in…"  
"I know. It's a lot to take in," Darcy felt genuinely bad for the guy, "You'll get used to it. Could be worse – it's a pretty small town here, not too much to confuse you. I dread to think if you'd landed in New York. And I'll always be here to help you, 'kay? An' I won't laugh, no matter what you ask me. Well, I might laugh a bit. But I won't judge you."  
"Thankyou. Again. I will find a way to repay you for this kindness one day, I promise." He gave her the most serious but kind smile he could manage. Darcy noticed it didn't particularly suit him.  
"Ya don't have to, it's no trouble. Come on; you can repay me now by carrying all the shit around and away from the store."

Darcy got the shopping done in record time with a helper. It was bliss. She wasn't sure why she hadn't insisted one of the guys help her out sooner. She wanted to keep him forever. And it didn't hurt he was really attractive. Like really, really. Stop it, Darcy. Alien from the sky, Darcy. Leaving again soon, Darcy. Probably got a ridiculously attractive wife in the sky, Darcy. Supposed to be helping him, Darcy. Don't make it more confusing, Darcy. She dismissed the thoughts from her mind and unpacked food into cupboards.  
"Who are the little people in the box?" said a smooth, curiously accented voice behind her.  
"Oh! Didn't know you were standing there still," Darcy puzzled for a moment, but drew up blank, "The little people in the box?"  
"Yes, that Tom and Harry are watching. The singing ones."  
Darcy laughed. Then caught herself, "I'm sorry, I've already broken the "I'll try not to laugh" thing. They're not really little people. Well, they are. But they're regular sized. Somewhere in the world, they've been recorded, using a… device. It's kinda like a permanent memory imprint, which can be transferred into a big special box so that anyone with a big special box can watch it. Does that make sense?"  
"I… Think so. I'm not sure. I expect I'll learn."  
"Here, I'm not doing anything for the rest of the day; how 'bout I teach you how stuff works around here?"  
"That would be most kind, Darcy. I am not used to most of your mortal customs. We have some knowledge in the archives on Asgard, but I fear it is much outdated."  
"Cool! I wanna start with music!" Her face lit up with the possibilities, "Go sit in my room, I'll be with you in two secs."

Loki entered Darcy's room and looked around in wonderment. It was… like nothing he was used to. This whole place confused him; he didn't feel like himself. He'd noticed the change the moment he thanked Darcy. He never thanked anyone. He didn't need to – he was a Prince, people just did things for him and that was the way it was. But Darcy hadn't known that and she helped him anyway. From what he knew; most mortals wouldn't. Curious.  
Her room was different to the rest of the house. And not just visually, for it was truly an untamed mess. But it simply… felt different to him. More comfortable. The smell was different too; the air smelt like candy trees (Something he and Thor had happened upon on a strange planet one exploration. Rather than leaves and flowers the trees grew thick, pink, edible cotton.) and cats and something faintly flowery that he couldn't quite place.  
He seated himself in the only available chair. It was black, and seemed somewhat unstable due to the crack down the back and the sudden rotation of the seat as he sat down. Loki visually explored as he waited for Darcy. Her collection of literature was rather impressive, he noted. He prided himself on reading a lot, but given the time to (1100 years was a lot compared to 19) he thought this girl would be capable of rivaling him. He didn't think he should focus too much on the clothing on the floor; some of the little piles seemed rather personal. There also seemed to be various food packaging around the place, mostly he made out the words "Skittles" and something that seemed to say "KA" on it. He wasn't sure what they meant. And as for the whirring machine under the desk next to him…. it somewhat perturbed him. Loki didn't like the unknown.  
There was a noise in the general direction of the bed. On guard for more whirring devices; Loki was startled when the noise turned out to be a rather small, yet rather round, cat.  
"Hello, little kitty. I'm okay, I won't hurt you." He reached out his hand to the floor and made kissing noises to try and entice the creature over. It gave him a petrified look and scrambled back under the bed.  
"That's Speck. She's scared of everyone. Well, not everyone; she's used to me. But she doesn't leave this room, so whenever anyone new comes in she hides under the bed an' stays there til they've left." Loki hadn't noticed Darcy enter the room, and whipped around to face her so quickly that the chair swiveled with him. The sudden movement of the chair coupled with his still partial lean down towards the floor made him collapse forwards. This was not good. _Loki_ did not fall onto his face on mortal girls' floors.  
"Ooooooff."  
He could not see, because his face was still buried in the shame of the situation, but behind him he could hear near hysterical laughter. The kind of laugher where almost no noise ends up being made due to lack of breath. Sure enough, when he sat up, there was Darcy, doubled over at the waist and wiping laughter-tears from the corners of her eyes.  
"I'm ….. Sorry…. That was…. So… so….. So funny," Darcy caught her breath and straightened up, "I'm done now. But really. How often d'you get to walk in your room to see some alien-god-Prince-guy, decked out in armor, fall flat on his face?"  
"Never, I should expect. We alien-god-Princes don't make too much of a habit of it. That was most undignified. Please tell no one of this event, or else I shall do very, very nasty things to you while you are asleep and unawares."  
Darcy actually sobered up at that. There was something dark and dangerous in his tone that made her know he was not joking about that threat. "Okay, I won't. Promise. Now, get your ass up from the floor and make yourself comfortable. Go sit on the bed, you'll get cramp in the computer chair after a while, and it makes talking a lot easier if we're next to each other. I'm gonna play you a selection of my favorite music. I'm betting it's all very different to music on Asgard. You do have music there, right?"  
"We do, thought it is generally only played at feasts and celebrations and the like, due to the scale of people that are require to play. I gather this is not the case on Midgard?"  
"No. It's kinda like the people on the magic screen out there. Only it's just sounds, not visual. But it's all recorded so that you can put it onta a special device called an iPod and listen to it whenever you want. Just sit and listen. This'll blow your little black socks off….."

Four and a half hours later, Loki knew 3 things. 1) Midgardian music was indeed _very_ different to the Asgardian equivalent. 2) Darcy had a _lot _of music. 3) He _really _liked Frank Turner.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I don't own the rights to any Thor-related stuffs, I only own my OCs (there's more of them in this chapter ^_^) I, still, don't even own a Loki action figure (I will persist with this...)

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A/N: Sorry it's been a while since I updated, this chapter didn't wanna get written for some reason. It may be a while before another update too, as I am going camping for a week soon and won't have the opportunity to write.

Thankyou so much to H. Lokidottir, Chuuulip, Anthracite95 and Synese Noreen for your lovely reviews; they were fuel and happiness to my writing brain. And well done to Synese on knowing the song used in the title of the last chapter. I believe I promised cookies and hot chocolate...^_^

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**So Dusty With Starlight, Close Your Eyes And Cuddle Close To Me**

"Toooooom!" Darcy called, exiting into the general living space, "You two aren't still busy, are you?"  
"No, and even if I were how could I resist instantly making myself available for the most charming, sweet girl I've ever met?" Tom's voice was thick with sarcasm. Darcy was one of few who truly got Tom – he'd moved from England to America, next door to Darcy, when they were just wee, cutesy 11 year olds. He'd kept his accent and his British sense of humour, but growing up with it Darcy grew to love the little quirks. This was useful, since Tom then found himself a nice English boyfriend. When Darcy had initially fancied Harry, it was the accent that got her. There was something alluring about it. Harry had only been there since the start of college though (he moved to New Mexico _for _collage), so he was even more English-ey than Tom was.  
"Ah good, well that's me, so you can do me a favour and make all the popcorn while I stick the pizzas in the oven and start the hot chocolate."  
"Huh?"  
"It's Saturday Tom, film night. Everyone's coming over."  
"But... even though... Are you sure?"  
Darcy sighed, "I'm not gonna cancel it just 'cause there's an extra one of us, am I? More the merrier," She smiled.

"Now, Loki," Darcy's tone of voice implied something marginally worrying was about to happen, "You've been really cool about everything; not freaking out that you're somewhere new and scary, and going along with all the craziness here..."  
"Where are you going with this?" His voice seemed on-guard.  
"It's not that bad. It's just my friends. They're all turning up in about 20 minutes. We have film nights most weekends. So...You up for coming and sitting with us? They're not scary, promise. They might assume some stuff about... But they shouldn't ask too many questions. Probably."  
"Fine. But from what I know, this is not suitable Midgardian attire, is it?"  
"Errr," Darcy looked him up and down, "No, it really isn't. I'll ask Tom if you can borrow some of his stuff and we'll have to go get you your own clothes tomorrow. It's a wonder we didn't get more strange looks when we were shopping earlier."  
"We did," Loki noted, "But you were too wrapped up in your little bubble and your list of purchases to really notice."  
"I…Oh. Hmph."

15 minutes and a minor struggle of willingness of Tom's part later, Loki was sat on one of the settees dressed in a black pair of skinny fit jeans and a plain dark green t-shirt. Thankfully, Loki was much the same build and frame as Tom, so they fit reasonably well. Darcy was sat next to him, clad as usual in jeans and a band t-shirt. Today, it was a Smashing Pumpkins one.  
"Listen, I dunno if it's a good idea to tell alla our friends who exactly you are, but I'm not gonna directly lie to them. Just tell them half the truth about how I met you. That cool?"  
"I believe that would be a reasonable plan, La-", he caught himself before he was given a reprimanding look, "Darcy."  
She smiled, "Good." He wasn't sure if she was smiling at his agreeance or at his catching himself before he used a formal title on her. Both seemed likely.  
There was a knock on the door. Darcy ran to it as though she would be awarded a medal for "Fastest Door Answering". As soon as the door was open she was flinging her arms around two girls, both with long blonde (really, proper, pale-blonde) hair and exceptionally similar facial features, right down to the way their noses crinkled as they smiled. There was a guy standing next to the girl on the right.  
"Dudettes, and dude, we, umm, are not our usual number tonight," Darcy said as she shut the door.  
"Oh, tell us more?" The girl on the left was the one that spoke. Loki noticed she had violently pink streaks in her hair. The other had the same but a vivid blue.  
"Isobel, Eva, Dan; this is Loki," Darcy turned from them to face him, "Loki, this is Isobel," she gestured to the girl with pink, "Eva Mae," the girl with blue, "And Dan, who is Eva's boyfriend."  
"It is lovely to meet you all." He stood up, all gentlemanly like, and offered his hand to them. When Isobel went to shake it he kissed her knuckles as he had with Darcy, and she giggled. The same happened with Eva, only minus the giggling.  
When Loki simply shook Dan's hand he feigned a look of utter disappointment, "I don't get a kiss too?" They all laughed, and any awkward there could have been in the air was broken.  
"C'mon, let's stop it with all the formality." Eva smiled, and Loki felt it was a genuinely warm smile, "Do we just assume you're the first boyfriend we've ever known Darce to have, or..."  
"No, no," Darcy shook her head, "It's not like that. Trust you lot to jump to conclusions. Shut up. No. I um... Found him, I guess, when I was reading the other day. We bonded pretty quick. He's passing through and needed somewhere to stay. Nothing more interesting than that." Loki shot her a look that indicated approval to her jumble of an explanation.  
"Seems like it _could _be pretty interesting from what I've seen..." Tom said, fake-quietly, as he and Harry sat down.  
"Stop it! You... evil. You'll put ideas in all their heads!" But Darcy was laughing.

Popcorn, Loki soon discovered, was delicious. And seemed to cause great hilarity when one mortal attempted to throw it while another mortal attempted to catch it using only their mouth. Okay, so the hilarity didn't only pertain to mortals, as it turned out. And hot chocolate was startlingly different to any liquid Loki had ever consumed. It was sweet and smooth and somehow caused a sensation when it settled in his stomach that could only be described as "warm fuzzies". This worried him. He, the God of Mischief and Lies, reduced to having warm fuzzies. Did he really deserve such a punishment as this? He knew it wasn't just because of that disagreement, but because of the various troubles he had caused over the extensive years. Still; warm fuzzy feelings...  
They watched one of the memory imprints with little moving people after the, what could only be described as a popcorn war, ended. It was a bizarre story, which seemed to tell of two deceased mortals, who attempted to scare away the new residents of their home. They called upon the help of a frankly insane man, also dead, who ultimately tried to wed the daughter of the new owners of the house. In-between making any sense of the thing, Loki found it somewhat entertaining.  
"So," Darcy turned to him as the film finished, everyone else too busy talking to notice her unusual subtlety, "What d'you think?"  
"Of the film? It was... intriguing. And absurd. But I was not averse to it. There were parts I found myself enjoying, also. Particularly the segment where they were forced to sing a most incredulous song at the dinner table," He had a half-smile that Darcy could see was made of almost pure naughtiness and delight.  
She beamed at him, "That's my favourite scene! I adore that film. You have no idea how much. And, umm, my friends?"  
"You are asking what I think of them?" Darcy nodded to him. "They are perfectly adequate friends. I do not believe I can truly assess them from what I know as yet, but I see no reason to dislike them. Isobel is perhaps a tad too... gaudy. But that's merely a first impression."  
"Nah, she's kinda like that. You get used to her. She doesn't mean to be over the top, it's how she is. She's just into drama and theatrics."  
"Alright," Harry stood up, "Another film, or shall we break out the monopoly?"  
"_NO_!" came a rather strong response from the rest of the room. Loki merely looked confused.  
The second film made a fair deal more sense than the first. This one followed the story of a peasant man who, along with a band of friends, became a knight and competed in the now long forgotten mortal competition of jousting, whilst falling in love along the way.  
"I rather enjoyed that one," he said to Darcy as the song played over the credits, "Though I was somewhat disappointed he fell for the noble lady rather than the blacksmith."  
"Thankyou! Nearly everyone says that. It's just like, why? Kate's so much nicer than Jocelyn."  
The third film centred around the relationship of 2 people, a man and a woman, and showed re-arranged parts of the time they spent together. As far as Loki could tell, the woman in question was unfairly mean to the man, and broke his heart; though due to her he found eventual happiness.

As the film drew to a close, Loki looked around. Darcy, Isobel, Dan and Tom were all asleep.  
"What should we do?" He whispered across to Harry.  
"I can't move; Tom's asleep on my shoulder."  
Mild befuddlement crossed Loki as he wondered how he hadn't noticed Darcy's sleeping position – legs curled up onto the sofa and her upper body resting against his. "I'm in a similar predicament."  
"Eva?" Harry nudged the girl next to him, who was resting against Dan but was not herself asleep.  
"Hmmmnh?"  
"Can you turn the tv off for us? Neither of us can move for sleeping people."  
"Sure..." She muttered, and partially stumbled across the room, shut off the screen, then collapsed back to her previous position.  
"I'm going to sleep too," Harry said. "Goodnight, Loki."  
"Goodnight."

With everyone else asleep, Loki pondered. He thought over the events of the day. The afternoon spent helping Darcy and discovering new things from this realm. The evening spent in laughter and relaxed with... friends. It was all so surreal to him. The only friends he'd truly had were Thor and the Warriors Three. And the Lady Sif, though they were at somewhat of a silence after the hair cutting prank. But he wondered if, the warriors at least, would not be his associates were it not for his brother. These mortals, however... They accepted him into their group so easily and freely. They seemed to actually _like_ him, and for _who_ he was, not for _what_ he was.  
Loki looked down to the girl still leaning on him. She was smiling in her sleep. He wondered what she may be dreaming of. She shone when she smiled.

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A/N: Just figured I should add, in case it was in any doubt - I do not own the rights to Beetle Juice, A Knight's Tale, or (500) Days of Summer. Or Monoploly, for that matter.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own any rights to Thor, only to my own OCs, which aren't in this chapter too much. Also, I don't own any rights to any of the song lyrics I have used, or will use, as chapter headings. Oh, and there are still no Loki action figures in my possesion.

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A/N: I'm so sorry to everyone who's been reading this - it's been something like 3 weeks since I last updated. I was away, then real life got semi-depressing for a few days, then it was all busy, and then I just started college. Which is bloody scary. So I've hardy had the chance to write. Plus, I had a real struggle with this chapter. It didn't want to get written. Then, all of a sudden, tonight it's just magically happened, like it was meaning to be there all along I just hadn't found it yet. But I'm sorry if it's kinda shit, because I just sat and wrote most of it in one go, and it turned out really long and I can't be bothered to really edit it ^_^

A/N 2: Also, I realised I should point out - I'm English. So anything I write like "Centre" instead of "Center" or "Colour" instead of "Color" is not a typo, it's because I'm not American. I'm sure any American readers can cope with knowing what the word is, it's not exactly hard, I just felt the need to say it ^_^

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**Look To The Sky, There's A Space For An Angel**

Darcy woke up feeling warm and sleepily content. It was Sunday. Everyone had been over for films. She'd fallen asleep watching (500) Days of Summer. She was... Darcy sat up suddenly, shaking her head and realising herself. She'd only gone and fallen asleep on Loki. Stupid, Darcy. Falling asleep curled into the side of the person you're trying to persuade yourself you don't _like _like is a definite no-no. She opened her eyes as she cleared her head. She was the first one awake. Good. Hopefully no one knew. They'd only use it as an excuse to make her/Loki-related jokes.  
"Good morning," a smooth voice said, slightly behind her ear and close enough to send tingly shivers down her spine, "I trust you rested well?"  
"Whuua!" Darcy jumped slightly, "I... Yes. Thankyou. You were a lovely temporary cushion. I'm sorry I fell asleep on you," she eyed Loki guiltily.  
"It is no matter. I am glad I was comfortable for you. Logistically I should not be due to my frame; being skinny and boney as I am."  
"Ehem, yes, well," She didn't know what to say to that, "Um, would you like tea?"  
"I thought tea was typically English?"  
Darcy nodded towards Tom, still asleep on Harry's shoulder. "His fault, he got me into it. Well, would you?"  
"That would be lovely."  
Darcy hopped up and walked over to the kitchen, treading the bare wooden boards carefully to avoid loud creaks that may wake the others. She started to make the tea, then paused, "Do you have sugar in your tea?"  
"I... Do not know. I have always had tea as it is served to me," Loki puzzled at his inability to answer.  
"I'll give you two sugars, same as I have it," Darcy smiled at him.

When the tea was done, Darcy made a motion with her head, in the direction of her bedroom door. She mouthed, "Go on," to Loki, and tip-toed her own way across.  
Once they were inside and the door was shut, Darcy said, "I figured it's only half nine, the others'll be grumpy if they get woken up now. And we can talk properly if we're in here."  
Loki nodded, and settled himself on the corner of her bed, then thanked her for the cup of tea she handed him.  
"So," she chirruped, "What shall we do today?"  
"I-," Loki cut off as he realised he had no suggestions, "Why don't you choose what you would like?"  
"I can't think of anything... I spend most of my spare time reading. Which is a bit anti-social right now. Actually, I suggest we spend the day getting you stuff. You need some clothes, for a start, and you'll need basic shit like a tooth-brush and that."  
"This sounds like a fine proposition. Should we depart now?"  
"Nah, it's early and we gotta wait for everyone else to-a cleared out before we can really go anyways," Darcy watched Loki bend down and place his mug on the floor, "Tea okay?"  
"It was perfect, thankyou. I guess two sugars is what I favour."  
"Ummm, Loki?"  
"Yes?"  
Loki noted a timidly embarrassed tone in Darcy's voice as she said, "Do you mind going out for 10 minutes so I can get changed?"  
"Oh, I'm so sorry, I've hardly left you alone since I got here! Of course I shall."

As Loki shut the door behind him, Darcy closed her eyes and exhaled slowly. She still wasn't sure what she'd let herself in for. It hit her in a sudden flash; she was standing there, getting ready to go out to buy clothes and necessities for some guy who was a total stranger two days ago, who had fallen outta the sky, who claimed he was a prince from another realm, and who was now living with her. What was she thinking? What was she doing? Why was she doing it? Darcy tried to convince herself that she was doing it out of the goodness of her heart, and not because she thought he was hot, but...his eyes... Get a grip, woman. Get changed.  
Darcy scavenged her room for clothes she actually wanted to wear. Suddenly she felt like it actually _mattered_ how she dressed. Eventually she decided on her favourite pair of skin-tight denim jeans and her Back To The Future t-shirt, which she'd only bought two weeks ago. It was navy blue and carried the words "I'm Your Density" across the chest, in the classic BTTF font. She adored it.  
Walking quickly and quietly, Darcy made her way from bedroom to bathroom, and noticed Loki had perched himself, cross-legged, on the kitchen counter/island/sort-of-room-divider. And he was doodling with a pen and paper that someone had abandoned there. Hmm... Interesting. Arriving at her intended destination, the bathroom mirror, Darcy analysed herself. She looked like a train wreck. Her hair was a positive nest of knots, and seriously needed conditioning. Note to self: have shower before bed tonight. She was as pale as ever, but she looked somewhat more exhausted than usual. Not necessarily bad-exhausted, more like shock-exhausted. It'd clear up. Darcy cleaned her teeth, washed her face, and peed, in record time.  
"Sooo, whatcha drawing?" She said as she leant against the counter next to Loki's "seat".  
"I, um, not much. Eyes. I only ever draw eyes. I have no real ability to draw anything else."  
"Well, your eyes are good! You sure you don't have the potential to be some spectacular artist?"  
"Quite sure, Miss Lewis. I have had many years to attempt to pursue it."  
"You called me "miss" again," Darcy glared, using her stern don't-even-go-there voice.  
"That time I believe you will find I was using a formal title to be patronising," Loki's smirk was pure mischief, "My Lady."  
Darcy just huffed and decided to let him get on with it. "I'm gonna wake the others, make 'em teas and coffees, and then leave Tom and Harry in charge of chucking the rest out."

A half-hour later, Loki and Darcy were sat in Darcy's little car.  
"So, where do you go to acquire apparel here?"  
"Well..." Darcy pondered, "There's an independent clothing store along one of the smaller shopping roads that I go to a lot, they mostly sell band t-shirts and merch and the like, but for you, now, I think we're best off going into the little shopping centre. It's more neutral, and you're new here, so."  
"Then to there we must venture."  
"Ya know, you talk funny." Loki looked marginally hurt by her words, "No no, I mean, it's not bad. It's just different. It's... old-fashioned. It's very _proper_. And that makes it unusual. But it's kinda refreshing to listen to. I didn't mean to offend you or anythin', I like it. I just mean that it's... yeah, odd, nowadays."  
A flicker of concern and mild confusion adorned Loki's face for a second, but just a second, and Darcy did not catch it as she was driving. Nothing more was said until they arrived and pulled to a halt along the edge of a side-road.  
"It's easier to park here; you don't have to pay and it's hardly ever full all along the road, even if you do have to walk a bit to the shops." There was more silence as they walked along the road, although it never once felt like an uncomfortable or awkward silence.  
Upon entering the small shopping centre Darcy seemed to somewhat _awaken_. It was like she suddenly had an immediate change in her whole persona. She stopped and started muttering under her breath, words and names that Loki could only assume were shops, and her eyes flickered back and forth as though mentally picturing and planning a route.  
"Okay, I know exactly where we need to go, and the quickest, most efficient way, of doing it."  
And that was it; they were off.  
Loki had never been so utterly bemused about anything in his life. Even that time when Thor had replaced all the mirrors with paintings of what a blank mirror would reflect, so that Loki truly thought he had turned permanently invisible to the world.

Most of the shops were rather formulaic: go in, find whatever in there was needed, pay, leave. Clothing, Loki found out, was not so easy. Especially since they didn't exactly know what sizes would fit him. A whole two hours were spent with Loki in a changing room, having a variety of clothes thrown over the door by Darcy, and then he would demonstrate himself wearing the selected attire for her approval or disapproval. Fortunately, mostly, Loki liked all the clothes she approved anyways, so it was okay. But he clung on to a disapproved t-shirt that was grey with sparkle-studded angel wings on. Finally, eventually, they had 3 pairs of jeans (two black and one denim), 16 t-shirts (of various colours but the majority black or grey), 4 sets of pyjamas (again, varying), socks (all black), pants (for some reason all exceptionally brightly coloured) and shoes (a pair of traditional black converse and some gypsy-style black boots).  
"Ya know, it's times like this when I love my dad."  
"What?" Loki looked confused; they were standing in a short queue of two people, waiting to purchase their findings.  
"Well, I'm supposed to live off my college allowance, and I usually make it work, but my dad connected me to his bank account so that if I ever really need money for necessities then I can use some of his. I hardly ever do, but this is the sort of "need to" situation where I'm really, really pleased I can."  
"Ah, I see. Thankyou, and your Father I guess, so much for everything. I am not entirely sure I could have managed on my own."  
"Not without money ya couldn't, and you don't seem to have any."  
"If I were to have my magical resources still accessible, I would be more than capable of producing money. But alas _my_ Father plugged my abilities until such a time as he decides I have "learnt". Which, right now, I don't know quite what he wants. It is possible this, just interacting and developing a life in your world, may be considered learning. We shall find out, one day."  
After they paid and left the clothing store, Darcy turned to face Loki, "That was our last stop. So, how'd you like to "learn" a little more?" She actually made air-quotes around the word "learn".  
"What do you have in mind?"

This place, apparently, was a bowling alley. Before they started playing, whatever that involved, Loki went off to the bathrooms to change from Tom's borrowed clothes into some of his own new ones, while Darcy ordered them food. Neither of them had eaten at all, it was 3:42pm, and it had been a draining day.  
Darcy would have been displeased at Loki emerging wearing black jeans and the sparkle covered t-shirt, only she was too busy staring at the burgers and chips that had just been delivered to their little table.  
"This; this is the best and worst food you will ever eat. It is so, _so _bad for you, I dread to think what they do to it in places like this. But it just tastes soooo nice."  
Loki eyed it with slight trepidation, but he was hungry, so he joined her and ate.  
Once they were fed and watered, Darcy sorted the lane with the guy behind the counter and set it all up.  
"You'll need to find a bowling ball that you can lift fairly easy," Darcy explained, "It should feel heavy, but comfortable. That's the first step. And it's all pretty simple from there. There are 10 bowling pins at the end of that lane there. You bowl the ball down the lane, try and hit as many pins as you can in your go, that's what gets you more points. You get me?"  
"I think so... I'm not sure."  
"I'll go first and you can watch. You'll pick it up." Darcy smiled at him, a true happy-person smile. It was the smile of someone who loved everything about the day they were having.

Darcy won, but not by much. For a beginner, he had promise. They'd have to try and go more, if they had time. It was nearing dinner-hours when they got back to the apartment, which was empty. Tom had left a note saying himself and Harry had gone to the movie theatre, to see Dark Knight Rises for something like the 12th time.  
"I'm not too hungry, dunno about you? Shall we just stick a film on or something?"  
"That would be nice, I do not feel too inclined to eat right now either," Loki sat down on the same settee they had fallen asleep on the night before.  
"Hmmmm... What shall we watch?"  
"Are you actually asking me? Because my film knowledge is somewhat limited."  
"It was more a general wonderment than an actual question... Oh! I know! Rather than watching a film, I'll introduce you to the best tv series ever made."  
"What is a tv series?"  
"Right. It's like a series of shorter length films that all depict the same characters and have interlinking, continuous story lines, as opposed to one individual story in one film."  
"I understand."  
"Good," Darcy inserted the dvd into the player and pressed play on the first episode.  
The plot seemed to centre on a group of marauders, in the future, in space. The crew of the ship, along with the passengers, were a strange variety, but they worked well together, and the whole show seemed to be expertly created. Loki enjoyed it, the limitlessness of space had always been an interest of his, and this seemed to explore aspects of those possibilities.  
And then, rather unfortunately, half way through the second episode, Loki sprung up: "I need to... I'm sorry," and sprinted for the bathroom.  
"What the...?" Darcy followed him, and stood outside the bathroom door, which had been pushed closed. From inside were the rather obvious sounds of a person throwing up what was probably chips and a burger. She waited for it to stop, "Are you okay?"  
"No..." came a rather disgruntled voice, "I don't feel too good."  
"It was probably the bowling alley food. That stuff's not great for you at the best of times, and you're not so used to greasy food like most people are."  
"I guess so." More retching.  
"I'll go and get you a glass of water."  
Poor guy, Darcy thought. Second proper day on Earth, and he's throwing his guts up. Still, shit happens.

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A/N: Okay, okay, I'm sorry for making him ill. Don't murder me in my sleep. A few last things... 1: This is the first lyrics I've used without a star connection, but I opted for angels instead because of his t-shirt and it fits ^_^ 2: I obviously don't own any rights to Back To The Future, Dark Knight Rises, or Firefly. But I do own that BTTF t-shirt, and Firefly _is _the best tv series to ever exist, no question. And if you haven't seen it, you have no argument. 3: Thanks to my lovely reviewers on my last chapter - Sara60691, a lovely anonymous Guest, and Anthracite95 who a) knows me too well and b) is now getting clothing related revenge because he stole my pyjamas in his Raven/Crane fanfic, which if you like Teen Titans and Batman you should go read ^_^ Oh, and 4: I don't know when I'll have time to write and update again, but hopefully it won't be as long as last time!


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own no rights etc etc... I wanna Loki figure... Christmas maybe ^_^

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A/N: I really felt like writing tonight, but then I wasn't really sure what I wanted to write next. So yeah, this happened. Hope it's not boring or anything. Reviews get you cookies and other virtual niceness ^_^

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**...But There's Room For Two Six Feet Under The Stars**

Loki felt _awful_. Like someone had ripped out his stomach, coated it in the most unfriendly kind of acid, tied it in several knots, and then shoved it unceremoniously in with all the rest of his insides once more. After spending a good half hour or so emptying what felt like every meal he'd ever eaten, Darcy had insisted on making him "snuggly" in her bed. Apparently being snuggled up and warm was good for you when you had food poisoning. He wasn't feeling it.  
"How long do I have to stay here?" Loki asked, in an uncharacteristically whiny voice.  
Darcy sighed; he hadn't been the most co-operative of patients so far, "Until you get over this thing. You're ill. If me and the internet are right and it's food poisoning, then you're gonna wanna throw up everything for the next day or two and you shouldn't be over exerting yourself. Okay?" Loki frowned at her overly stern expression, but decided not to object. Besides, it was a comfortable bed. "Now," Darcy continued after acknowledging his silence as compliance, "I'm gonna get on with my college report that I need to hand in tomorrow, I should have done it days ago. So I'm going to suggest you occupy your time with this. It's from the best set of books ever written." Loki was handed a book from the battered looking stack directly next to the bed.  
"Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone?"  
"Yes. Trust me."  
So Loki opened his first book of the next few bed-ridden days.

It was 9pm on Wednesday night. It was very cold. Darcy had had a really shitty day at college, in which she'd had to stay behind with Professor Reynolds because there was paper work and she'd volunteered to help ages ago for extra credits. All she wanted was to get some sleep.  
"Hey, how're you feeling?"  
Loki looked up from his book as she entered the room, quickly dismissing the thoughts that she was kinda, sorta, maybe, exceptionally sexy when she was tired-looking. Don't go there, Loki. "Much better, thankyou. I managed to eat dinner successfully this evening, courtesy of Tom. Don't worry I didn't get up and "over exert" myself with food preparation," He rolled his eyes, but Darcy didn't pick him up on it.  
"Great. Listen; I'm exhausted and I wanna get an early night, so I'm just gonna grab some clothes and have a shower then crash on the settee again. You okay with that?"  
"No, I'm not. I'm far better, you are tired, and I am still a guest here. You should return to sleeping in your own bed."  
"Hell no, you only just managed to eat something for the first time in like 3 days. You're not "better" yet."  
"I am-"  
"You're not fine! I say so. I'm getting in the shower. Night," and grabbing some pyjamas from the nearest pile, Darcy left the room.  
Loki sighed and returned to reading about the Goblet of Fire. These books weren't half bad.

Darcy relaxed when she got in the shower. The slightly-too-hot water was soothing as it ran from her hair down her back. She hummed to herself and mused over the past few days. She'd practically held Loki captive and forced him to eat tiny morsels of fruit and yoghurt because they were all he could keep down. And he barely complained after the initial denial. She'd expected him to outright refuse to be looked after at all, being an ancient god and all. But he mostly just sat down and let her get on with nursing him back to... normality? He was never exactly normal, to be fair. The problem was, she was becoming all too used to having him around and just _there_. Not used to having him ill, because that would be annoying if he was always like that, but used to being able to talk to him about whatever, whenever she needed. And she knew it wouldn't last forever, because he'd have to go back to Asgard when He-Who-Is-High-And-Mighty decided it was time. Which sucked.  
Darcy stepped out the shower and got dressed, then plaited her hair into a braid as she always did. Sleep was her only destination from this point forth.  
Sleep would not come. No matter what angle she was at on the settee, or how she arranged the bedding around herself, she could not sleep. It was too cold. After two hours of frustrated shifting and twisting and tugging at different quilt corners, Darcy gave up.  
Quiet as she could, she entered her bedroom.  
"Sorry if I'm disturbing you, I just need to get an extra quilt from under the bed. It's too cold."  
"You really should sleep in here, it's warm. I don't mind sleeping out there, I-"  
"No! Sorry," Loki looked somewhat affronted at her sharp reply, "I shouldn't keep cutting you off when you're only trying to be nice. But really, you're the one that's still ill. You need to be warm more than I do."  
"Sleep in here anyway."  
"What?" Darcy looked at him like he was well and truly mad.  
"There's more than enough room for two people in this bed; it takes up half the bloody room because it's so massive."  
"But, but," Darcy sputtered in slight shock, "Do you realise how... how inappropriate that would be? I mean, you're a guy and and, I'm a girl and..."  
"It would be fine. Calm down, honestly. You slept on my shoulder after we watched the films. This would not be so different, surely?"  
"It is _so, SO, _different. We'd be in the same bed! That's an entirely separate situation to me accidentally falling asleep leaning on you."  
"But why?"  
"Because... Because there are certain implications when a girl and a guy sleep in the same bed."  
"I don't see the logic behind that. Tom and Harry are of the same gender, they sleep in the same bed, but they are also in a sexual relationship. I therefore do not see why it is not allowed in reverse – two people of the opposite gender should be allowed to sleep in the same bed _without_ a sexual relationship being present."  
"Well... I... When you put it that way... Actually, that makes sense. Kinda. But still, they'll think things," Darcy nodded her head in the direction of Tom's room.  
"Would they not believe that it is possible you were simply cold?"  
"Probably not. Harry would, but I doubt Tom will."  
"And do you care more about being warm or about what other people think of you?"  
Darcy wanted to be warm. But Darcy didn't want to get into a bed with the guy she was really, _really _not supposed to be falling for. Darcy wanted to be warm. "Gimme 30 seconds," She rushed out and gathered up her pillow and the quilt she'd been using.  
"Hi," she let out breathlessly as she shut the door again.  
Loki raised an eyebrow, "Decided you were actually quite cold?"  
"Err, yeah. I'm really very cold," She went to place her pillow in it's normal spot on the bed, but most of Loki was in the way, "You're where I always sleep."  
"Oh dear. Whatever could we do?"  
"You could move?"  
"Maybe you could ask me nicely if I would mind moving for you, and then I would be more inclined than I am when you just state that I am in your way, since I was here first."  
"But it's my bed!" Darcy scowled, "Would you shift yourself over so I can get in?" He didn't move. "You were the one that was so insistent that I sleep in here!" He still didn't move. "Please?"  
Loki smiled and moved to the wall-side of the bed, "Was that so hard?"  
"Yes." Darcy said it with venomous aggression, but it was obvious she was trying to contain a small smile as she laid down to sleep, "Sweet dreams, Loki. See you in the morning."  
"Sugary dreaming to you too," There was some confusion in his voice.  
Darcy smiled, "It's an expression. You'll get used to things like that."  
"I see."  
"Good night, Loki."  
"Good night, Darcy," He paused, "I'm really enjoying Harry Potter, you know."  
"That's nice. Good night, Loki," Darcy mumbled again sleepily.  
Loki didn't try to talk again. He simply paused as he turned to go to sleep himself, noting that Darcy allowed herself to let out the contained smile as she fell asleep. It was the second time he found himself wondering what she dreamed of in that funny little head of hers, and as he drifted off his thoughts slipped into dreams of his own. And they _were_ sweet dreams; he swore he could smell that confusing sugary-candy-tree-Darcy-smell in them. When he awoke and realised this, he felt he should be more concerned about his own mental state than he really was, but didn't care to admit that to himself just yet.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own no rights to anything Thor-related, as usual, they belong to other people. And as far as I can tell, no Loki action figures are coming my way any time soon...

(A Very Long) A/N: I'm sorry. So, so sorry. I cannot appologise enough. I am a terrible person. It's been so long since I updated. I've had so much going on recently, and my current state of life has been getting me down, so I've always either not had time or felt too shit to write anything. I believe one reviewer said they'd assume I was dead if I didn't update for a month... Which brings me to something else I want to say - Thankyou to everyone who's reviewed this, or who still gives a damn about reading it, you have my eternal gratitude. You're the ones who've motivated me to continue to bother writing... Well, that and procrastination from college work ;) Now, on with the chapter; I hope it's up to the usual standard of writing (althought I think it's a bit short...), considering I had to reread my whole own fic to remember what was going on...

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**I'm Looking Out For My Star Girl, I Guess I'm Stuck In This Mad World**

There was something warm and soft-feeling laying next to Loki when he woke up.  
"Mmmmm... Morning," he said, noticing the contentment in his own voice.  
He opened his eyes. There was a small, round, black and white cat staring back at him.  
"Gah! That's... You're not... Where's Darcy?" Great, now he was talking to cats. Cats can't talk back, idiot, they don't have voices. Now he was talking to himself. Stop it. He shook his head to try and get some sense into himself, then looked around the room properly. There was a sheet of paper lying atop his book.  
_  
To Loki,  
I had to get up and go to college, but you looked far too happy and asleep to wake you up. There's a box of pop-tarts in the kitchen that I left out for breakfast, so if you feel up to eating go and help yourself. Also, if you can remember how I showed you to work it, go have a shower because you've been in bed for 3 days. Oh, and lunch – there's stuff in the cupboards that I'm sure you can eat. Don't worry about dinner, I'll actually be home in time today :)  
Darcy xxx_

Well, that explained where she was, although mostly the letter was about food. Of course. What was he hoping it'd say – "I really enjoyed sleeping next to you last night, and I think you smell nice too, because somehow I know that you think I smell nice"? He was an idiot. But, Loki realised, he was a hungry idiot, and whatever pop-tarts were he wanted some.  
He wandered into the kitchen, absently noting that the cat followed him. There was a box in the middle of the kitchen counter, with another page of paper under it telling him how to heat up pop-tarts, but that they're also quite nice cold. This, he thought, was a rather unnecessary note, considering that the box told him the exact same information when he inspected it. But still, the consideration and good intention was there. The note ended with another series of little x's and Loki was unsure as to what these signified. Maybe he'd ask someone later.  
As he waited for the pop-tarts to heat through, he looked around the small kitchen space. There was a shelf that contained some worn-looking books, which all seemed to include various food preparation instructions upon further inspection. Maybe he'd prepare the dinner for the evening as a gesture to thank Darcy for helping him when he was sick. Plus; it'd make her happy, and whenever she was happy he always felt happier too.  
Fuck, he was turning soft. What was he doing?! He didn't like girls. Well, they were lovely to be with, and he had _been with_ girls, many times. But he never felt for any of them. Darcy was... different. She was entirely different to any female he had ever encountered on Asgard. That was all it was. He was intrigued by her mannerisms and how she behaved, nothing more. He was merely acting this way to gauge her reaction... But that didn't explain the unfounded happiness he felt whenever she so much as walked in the room.

Loki almost vowed on the spot to never eat anything but blueberry pop-tarts again so long as he lived, but decided that could be potentially problematic in the long run. He also ended up feeding about half a pop-tart to the cat after she jumped on to the surface next to him, meowing insistently.  
After spending a half-hour working out how to operate a shower, Loki was clean and feeling much, much better for it. He dressed in jeans and the sparkly angel shirt Darcy had, unfairly in his mind, disapproved of. He didn't care; he liked it.  
Then he realised he had nothing to do for the day, now he was no longer bed-bound. He didn't know how to work the film device, so that was not an option. It would have to be reading then, the same as before. He did have three and a half books to get through in order to finish the series, after all...

Loki shut The Goblet of Fire and placed it on the "Finished" pile of books next to the bed. He glanced at the clock on the bed-side table, and blinked. It was suddenly a 30 minutes past 4. Darcy, Tom and Harry all arrived home between 5 and 6, on a normal day. He would have to rush if he wished to prepare the night's food.  
Riffling through a random book he picked from the kitchen shelf, he settled on the first recipe he could find all the ingredients for. He followed the instructions, along with plain common sense, and the outcome seemed to fit the end result the book described. And it was only ten past 5 when the food was in the oven.  
"Oh, hey there Loki," Tom called over from the door as he and Harry arrived home, "What're you up to?"  
"I decided I should contribute, and make tonight's nourishment by way of thanks to Darcy, since she took care of me whilst I was unwell."  
"Smells like..." Harry paused, and came to peer in the oven, "You made _cookies_ for _dinner_?"  
Loki had uncertainty in his voice now, "I was not sure which recipe books were suitable for evening meals, but this was the first I found which there were available components for."  
"Never had cookies for dinner before," Tom laughed, "It's fine – Darce'll probably love it."  
Loki still believed he'd made a mistake, but let it go as the door opened again.  
"Hi guys!" Darcy had happiness in her voice today, "So, what's the meeting in the kitchen for?"  
Tom looked between Harry and Loki, "Do you want to say, or shall I?"  
Loki shook his head, certain he'd done it wrong at this point.  
"Loki made cookies for dinner!" Harry burst out.  
Darcy's laughter was instantaneous. She collected herself, and looked at Loki. He could see something in her face that looked like she was smiling with her eyes. "Why did you...? I'm sorry, I can't even... Why?"  
Loki explained and Darcy just beamed at him, "I'm gonna have to educate you on different food customs, aren't I?"  
"That seems like it might be helpful." Loki still wasn't sure whether he should be ashamed of himself for being a source of their amusement or whether he should join in the laughter at his own expense.

They sat around the TV to eat, and accompanied the cookies with tortilla chips and dip, and hot chocolate. Darcy told them all that, while talking in class, Eva had mentioned Dan having a birthday party in a couple of weeks and they were all invited, meaning Loki as well. Loki was surprised that these people had accepted him so easily into their circle. Then he became suddenly aware of how, well, _nice _he'd been to them all. He'd made cookies! Oh, Allfather, this was so uncharacteristic he feared for his mental well-being. His rationalisation that he was only being nice so that they would continue to provide him with food and lodgings seemed to be less and less real. He'd _enjoyed_ making cookies. Willingly.  
Loki glanced around the three others, all talking and laughing together. While Tom and Harry were good people to be with, his pondering thoughts focused far more on Darcy. He noted, not for the first time, that she was not unattractive for a mortal. But that was not the entirety of the matter. He felt lighter, happier, more at ease with himself, whenever he was in her presence. He could not deny the realisation any more. Even The God of Mischief was not that naive. But he did not know how to deal with the problem. For it certainly _was_ a problem. It was a weakness which he was not accustomed to. He could try to abandon the feeling; he would not be staying here for so long that it would be a permanent issue. Or, he could exploit it; the girl would probably be willing, he was a god after all, and he would not be here for so long that he would need to make a commitment. The only flaw in the latter arrangement would be if the feeling grew. Balderdash and poppycock. The only thing the emotion could further grow to was _love_. And Loki had never loved, not once, in all his centuries of living. He would merely have to see how the situation played out, and the decision whether to forget the feeling or take advantage of it would come, in time.  
For now, he settled into the largest settee, which in the end all 4 of them squished into, and continued to watch Firefly...


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing, yadda yadda... I didn't get a Loki figure for Christmas or my birthday. People suck.

A/N: I feel like I keep having to say the same thing now. I'm really sorry it's been ages since the last update. Too long. I've had this chapter set out in my head for some time. This was the second idea I ever had for this fic, infact. Because of something a somewhat drunk person said a very long time ago... Deviating. Point is - this should have been written and uploaded far sooner than it is. I'm very sorry. But college work and life and things going on and no time. The usual excuses. I shalln't delay any longer. Enjoy...

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**I'm Sleeping My Way Out Of This One... ... I'll Be Stuck Fixated On One Star**

"Guys!" Darcy yelled as she walked in laden with bags of food, "You have remembered Dan's party tonight, haven't you?"  
Loki refrained from laughing – the girl had talked of nothing else for near a week. Between outfitting, decorating and catering she was like a minuscule whirlwind of Midgardian festivities, which it was best for any man of the house to avoid unless specifically asked to help, in which case one must appear immediately for fear of verbal castration.  
"Of course, Darce, stop stressing so much," said Harry, taking two bags from her and unloading them onto the kitchen counter, "Everything's gonna go fine."  
"_Fine_!" She shrieked, making Harry take a half step backwards, "It's not gonna be _fine_! I have to cook and transport party food for 30 or 40 people in four hours, and get ready, then I've got'a hour to get to Eva's and set up the entire thing with only _you_ three to help! So don't go telling me it's all gonna be "_fine_"!"  
"Love," Loki started, taking the remaining bags from her and setting them down alongside the others, "He's right. It is more than enough time to do what is necessary, and stress shall only worsen the situ-"  
"Stop calling me "love", it's weird. You only do it because you heard Lightman say it a few times," Darcy scowled, "And I don't need any of you to calm me down or whatever shit you're tryin' to pull."  
"Fine," was the only reply Loki managed, and marched off to what had essentially become his and Darcy's shared room.  
"LOKI!" he heard screamed in his wake, but he ignored it. "I'm gonna kill him if he doesn't come out and help, I swear to god..."  
"I think," he could hear Harry say somewhat tentatively, "He's upset that you snapped at him when he was trying to help you not blow your own head off."  
"Well, I haven't got time for him to be."  
Loki sighed. He couldn't win this one and he knew it. It was either help and get yelled at or not help and get yelled at. Closing his eyes as if to brace himself, he re-opened the door, "If I help, will you at least _try_ to restrain your voice to it's usual pitch?"  
Darcy looked prepared for imminent murder, but gave a single, blunt nod of her head to indicate understanding before turning to the bags and loading 4 pizzas into the oven at once.  
"Then what do you need me to do?"  
"You spread out 12 of those silver tray things, put all the different types of cakes and biscuits over them, and cover them in plastic wrap when you're done. Harry, go find Tom, tell him he's to carry trays down to the car when they're ready, and then you start helping me make finger-sandwiches. Understand?"  
Harry moved faster than Loki thought possible towards his bedroom door; probably to go climb out the window and down the side of the building, if the boy had any sense. Loki got to starting on his assigned task...

4 hours later and Loki found himself staring at his make-shift wardrobe (two boxes) in utter confusion. Darcy had described the dress code to be "Not way fancy, but nicer than normal," which befuddled him more than if he'd simply not asked at all. He had not yet seen what she was wearing; she'd dressed and left to set up whilst he was still taking a shower. A long, pain-from-working-at-breakneck-speed-for-3-and-a-half-hours-without-sitting-down relieving shower.  
After another few minutes of blank clothing examination that got his lost mind nowhere, Loki conceded defeat. There was only one way to solve this problem.  
"Tom?"  
"Yeah?" Tom said a few second later, poking his head around the door, "What's up?"  
"I find myself somewhat out of my depth."  
"How d'you mean?"  
"I do not know the correct manner of attire for this... shindig."  
Tom laughed, "Well, there isn't really a proper yay or nay on what clothes. Just wear something a bit more... well, _nice_ than something you wear every day."  
"But I do not..."  
"Here, let me look," he said, coming in to kneel in front of the clothes boxes, "Black jeans'll be fine. They look smart enough even if you wear them normally, because they're better than blue jeans." Loki nodded, and took a clean pair of jeans he was being passed. "As for tops... Here, try this."  
"But this is two shirts," Loki said, examining the clothes he'd just been handed.  
"You wear the black top underneath," Tom explained, "With the greeny blacky tartany thing over the top."  
Tom left to get changed himself, but Loki still didn't feel right after he was dressed. Something was off.  
"Is this right?" he asked as he walked back out into the sitting area.  
"No," Tom shook his head and smiled slightly, "You leave the shirt buttons undone."  
"Surely that's not-"  
"Trust me," Tom smiled fully this time, "It's the right way."  
"You have my thanks."  
"Excellent, ready to go then?"

They arrived at a quarter to 7; before the actual start yet somehow after Darcy, Harry and Isobel had finished putting up the impossible amount of decorations.  
"Told you it was all nothing to stress over, didn't we?" Tom called to Darcy as they arrived.  
"Whatever," Darcy deflected, walking over to hug the pair of them, "You look good," she nudged Loki with her elbow as Tom walked away to embrace Harry.  
He was momentarily struck dumb as he took in her appearance. This was Darcy. Jeans-and-a-band/fangirl-t-shirt-or-oversized-jumper-all-the-time Darcy. Wearing a knee-length black skirt that rippled across the edges, accompanied by a just-about-not-see-through top that contained several shades of orange flowers layered across each other and a bow coming out the side made of the same material as the shirt itself, which he couldn't help notice highlighted her chest-area more so than usual. And makeup. She never wore makeup. There was also a shine to her hair that he'd never noticed before, with the way it rippled as it tumbled over her shoulders and settled around the edges of her shirt.  
"I...You... It's... Thankyou. So do you. Tom dressed me. I mean; Tom instructed me on what I should wear. You look wonderful, Darcy."  
She giggled. He'd never heard her giggle like that before, least of all in reaction to him. This was an odd night, one where he was sure he would be ignorant of most things.  
"C'mon, let's find the drinks table. I'm sure we both need a lot of alcohol in us very fast after this afternoon," and she latched onto his arm and dragged him off before he could even state his views that this was a highly disastrous plan.

Darcy hadn't been sure what the effects of drunkenness would be on Loki. Was Asgardian booze different to here? Stronger, weaker, something else entirely? Whatever it was, it didn't stop Loki from getting as drunk as every other idiot there, herself included. (Although no one, not even Eva who passed out at 1am in a pool of her own vomit, was as drunk as Dan. No sane or sober person would pick up an entire birthday cake, turn it upside-down on their own head, declare themselves "His Royal Kingness, Main Dude of Whatsit-Land Where All The Little People And The Other Little People And The Tall Pointy People Live" and then decide to dye the cat pink. Poor Snowy.)  
So despite Loki's insistence that "No amount of Midgardian spirits you care to ply me with shall affect me", Darcy still had to half carry him up the stairs to their apartment, with Harry, who had stayed dry all night to drive them home, occasionally lending a hand.  
"C'mon, you need to change and I'm not helping with that," she said as they sat down on the bed in their (Her, she still tried to tell herself it belonged to her) room.  
"Darcyyyyyyyyy..." Loki whined as he started stripping off his shirt. Avert eyes, Darcy. Don't stare. Don't stare.  
"What?" she replied, following suit after making sure his back was to her and pulling on her pyjama shirt quickly.  
"I still don't know what some of the words here mean."  
"Like what?"  
"Some guy I don't know called some girl I don't know sexy earlier. It confused me lots."  
"Y'know, you lose all your posh vocabulary when you're drunk."  
"But what does it meaaaan?"  
Darcy hesitated, and decided to opt for the serious answer rather than "It's everything you are but I can't tell you you are."  
"It's what people call each other when they find someone attractive. Like, appealing in a physical way."  
"Darcyyyyyy..."  
"What?" she sighed, throwing her clothes in a pile in the corner and getting into bed.  
"You're sexy."  
"And you're very drunk. C'mon, bed time."  
"There's a lot of cuddly toys on this bed.  
"I know, now get in and sleep it off."  
"I like this one with the big eyes and the funny tail."  
"That's a bush baby, now go to sleep."


End file.
